Scabies Hits 23 At Jcc Nursing Home

August 18, 2005|By CAROL SCOTT, cscott@dailypress.com | 223-5686

JAMES CITY — The highly contagious disease caused by mites is spread by touch, and sharing bedding and clothing.

An outbreak of scabies left 22 residents and one staff member of Tandem Health Care at Williamsburg itching with the contagious disease, the acting director of the Peninsula Health District said Wednesday.

Scabies is an unpleasant skin disease caused by parasitic mites digging beneath the skin to deposit eggs, but it is not dangerous, said Dr. S. William Berg, director of the Hampton Health District and the acting director of the Peninsula Health District.

Berg said the Peninsula Health District found out about the scabies Tuesday and did not know when it started. He's not aware of any other outbreaks in the area, he said.

A dermatologist examined one Tandem patient Tuesday and, although he did not find any mites, said that the person's itchy sores were scabies, said Berg.

"This is a nuisance. It's embarrassing, but it's not life-threatening," Berg said.

The risk, Berg said, is if the open lesions on the skin become infected.

The highly contagious disease is spread by shared bedding and clothing and by touch, Berg said. It's prone to spread in nursing homes and hospitals when caretakers touch multiple patients consecutively.

Visitors to Tandem would only be in danger of getting the disease if they touched someone with scabies, Berg said. Even then, the incubation period for scabies is six weeks, so people should wait at least that long until calling their doctor. Scabies symptoms are itchy red streaks on the hands or wrists or tiny itchy bumps on the skin.

A nurse from the health district planned to visit the 90-bed nursing care center for the elderly Wednesday to make sure Tandem was treating the disease properly. That means washing bedding and clothes in hot water, treating the patients and putting them in clean clothes, Berg said. After 24 hours, most patients recover, he said.

"In most outbreaks, we're never able to figure out who introduced it," Berg said. "The fact that there are scabies there does not mean there's a dirty environment. What is likely to happen is that they will clean the clothing and treat the patients, and it will all be over," he said.

A sign on Tandem's front door Tuesday read "It is imperative that you check with the receptionist for visiting precautions before proceeding to units."

"We're following all the regulations here," said Tiena Griffith, staff development and infection control nurse at Tandem on Tuesday.

She refused to comment further, saying the federal patient privacy law prevented her from giving information about an outbreak. *

WHAT IS SCABIES?

Scabies is an infestation of the skin by the microscopic mite Sarcoptes scabei. It spreads rapidly where there is frequent skin-to- skin contact between people, such as in hospitals, institutions, child- care facilities and nursing homes.

Symptoms: pimple-like irritations, burrows or rash of the skin, especially in the webbing between the fingers; intense itching, especially at night and over most of the body; and sores on the body caused by scratching.

Treatment: Several lotions are available. Wash all clothes, bedding and towels in hot water.